AP People

George Osborne MP

George Osborne was elected as the Member of Parliament for Tatton in June 2001. Winning with a majority of 8611, he replaced Martin Bell and became the youngest Conservative MP in the House of Commons. He has recently been promoted to the Shadow front bench Economic Affairs team.

Before this promotion George joined the Whips’ Office in June 2003. George served on the powerful Public Accounts Select Committee, the Public Accounts Commission and the Transport Select Committee. He has also fought hard to represent the interests of his Tatton constituents, and has helped secure some notable victories – including saving Knutsford Crown Court, preserving direct trains services to Wilmslow and stopping Manchester Airport changing its departure routes. George is on the Steering Group of ‘no’, the national campaign against Britain joining the single currency and he is Vice-Chairman and co-founder of North West Says No, the campaign against elected regional government in the North West. George is also Vice President of the East Cheshire Hospice, and serves on the Advisory Councils of both the Social Market Foundation think tank and New Europe, the pro-Europe anti-euro campaign organisation. In 2003 he appeared as BBC TV’s Parliamentary Doctor, taking part in a live on-air surgery with members of the public each week on BBC 2. More recently George appeared on BBC1’s Question Time, responding to the audience’s questions on the hot topics of the week.

George was born in London in May 1971. He was educated at St Paul’s School, London, and at Magdalen College, Oxford, where he read modern history. At Oxford he was a demy (scholar) and joint editor of the University magazine Isis. He was also a Dean Rusk scholar at Davidson College, North Carolina. From 1994-5 he worked in the Conservative Research Department and became Head of the Political Section. From 1995-7 he was the Special Adviser at the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and worked in the Political Office at 10, Downing Street. From 1997-2001 George was Political Secretary to the Leader of the Opposition and Secretary to the Shadow Cabinet. In that capacity he helped write William Hague’s speeches and prepare him for Prime Minister’s Questions.

George is married to Frances. The have two children: Luke, who was born a week after the 2001 General Election, and Liberty, who was born in June 2003. They live in London and Cheshire.